Investing.com -- Bitcoin rose on Monday and continued to flirt with the key $8,000 level amid signs that institutions are beginning to take a shine to cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin rose 3.28% to $7,896.1, up from a low of $7,523.6, and just shy of its intraday high of $8,012.
The $8,000 level previously has proven stern resistance for bitcoin, but some suggest there may be some reprieve for the popular currency if institutions continue to show a willingness to enter the crypto maker amid upcoming launch of Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) crypto.
“Companies like Facebook and JP Morgan experimenting with their own cryptos and major retailers such as AT&T (NYSE:T) and Whole Foods accepting bitcoin has got investors excited again," Simon Peters, analyst at global multi-asset investment platform eToro, told Express.co.uk.
But data suggest that merchant uptake of cryptocurrencies as a form of payment is murky at best.
Data from New York-based blockchain researcher Chainalysis showed that only 1.3% of economic transactions came from merchants in the first four months of 2019.
Much of the blame for the slow merchant uptake has centred on the volatile nature of bitcoin, which at times can swing by 50% in just a matter weeks. The popular crypto has more than doubled its value year to date.
But the popular crypto's bounce from session lows suggests the bulls are not ready to give up, and seemingly believe a push above $8,000 over the near term may well be on the cards.
Bitcoin's move higher was mirrored by other cryptos. XRP/USD rose 3.95% to $0.3956, ETH/USD climbed 4.74% to $242.49 and LTC/USD surged 10.66% to $126.76.
The total crypto market cap, often use to gauge demand, rose to about $253 billion after trading at about $243 billion a day earlier.